To
Smt Pratibha Patil
President of India
New Delhi
Sub: Gorkhaland Territorial Administration does not resolve the identity issue of India’s Gorkhas
Excellency,
Today, July 18, marks one year since the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration agreement was signed among the Union Government, West Bengal Government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha of Darjeeling. Thereafter, under an Act passed by the West Bengal Assembly and given assent by your goodself, the GTA Sabha has been notified and elections to it are scheduled for July 29, 2012.
We, the Gorkhaland Task Force, which is a common platform of various political parties and social organizations from all over India, reiterate that the GTA is a massive letdown for the Gorkhas of India, who have been demanding a separate state of their own to underline their political identity in this great nation of ours.
Indian Gorkhas have been part of India following historic territorial adjustments that took place in the period 1814-1865 between the British and kingdoms of Nepal, Bhutan and erstwhile Sikkim. The Gorkhas fought in the Freedom Struggle in both their military and civilian capacities and have sacrificed their lives to protect the Free India they helped create.
Yet today, despite this history, in many parts of the country — in the Northeast states, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir in particular, and generally across the country — Gorkhas frequently face ethno-political prejudices and are frequently categorized as foreigners, infiltrators and settlers. On numerous occasions this mindset has translated into acts that have threatened the life and livelihoods of Gorkhas.
It is this psychological uncertainty that the Gorkhas seek to address through the creation of a separate state. A Gorkhaland state will supplant all mindsets that treat the Gorkhas as non-Indians. A separate state is the concretization of the Gorkhas’ constitutional, democratic and inalienable rights as citizens of India to live free of prejudices and threats in their own country.
The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration achieves none of these aims. We, therefore, reject in totality the idea of the GTA and aver in no uncertain terms that the GTA is not, and can never be, the resolution of the identity crisis of the Gorkhas of India. It is to express our outrage at the GTA that many political parties and social organizations have sat on a black-band protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, today, July 18, 2012. We also renew our commitment to the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland, which alone will meet the aspirations of India’s patriotic Gorkhas.
Faithfully yours,
Munish Tamang, General Secretary
For Gorkhaland Task Force July 18, 2012
Copies faxed to:
Shri Manmohan Singh, Hon’ble Prime Minister, New Delhi
Shri P Chidambaram, Hon’ble Union Home Minister, New Delhi
Ms Mamata Banerjee, Hon’ble Chief Minister, West Bengal
Smt Pratibha Patil
President of India
New Delhi
Sub: Gorkhaland Territorial Administration does not resolve the identity issue of India’s Gorkhas
Excellency,
Today, July 18, marks one year since the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration agreement was signed among the Union Government, West Bengal Government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha of Darjeeling. Thereafter, under an Act passed by the West Bengal Assembly and given assent by your goodself, the GTA Sabha has been notified and elections to it are scheduled for July 29, 2012.
We, the Gorkhaland Task Force, which is a common platform of various political parties and social organizations from all over India, reiterate that the GTA is a massive letdown for the Gorkhas of India, who have been demanding a separate state of their own to underline their political identity in this great nation of ours.
Indian Gorkhas have been part of India following historic territorial adjustments that took place in the period 1814-1865 between the British and kingdoms of Nepal, Bhutan and erstwhile Sikkim. The Gorkhas fought in the Freedom Struggle in both their military and civilian capacities and have sacrificed their lives to protect the Free India they helped create.
Yet today, despite this history, in many parts of the country — in the Northeast states, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir in particular, and generally across the country — Gorkhas frequently face ethno-political prejudices and are frequently categorized as foreigners, infiltrators and settlers. On numerous occasions this mindset has translated into acts that have threatened the life and livelihoods of Gorkhas.
It is this psychological uncertainty that the Gorkhas seek to address through the creation of a separate state. A Gorkhaland state will supplant all mindsets that treat the Gorkhas as non-Indians. A separate state is the concretization of the Gorkhas’ constitutional, democratic and inalienable rights as citizens of India to live free of prejudices and threats in their own country.
The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration achieves none of these aims. We, therefore, reject in totality the idea of the GTA and aver in no uncertain terms that the GTA is not, and can never be, the resolution of the identity crisis of the Gorkhas of India. It is to express our outrage at the GTA that many political parties and social organizations have sat on a black-band protest at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, today, July 18, 2012. We also renew our commitment to the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland, which alone will meet the aspirations of India’s patriotic Gorkhas.
Faithfully yours,
Munish Tamang, General Secretary
For Gorkhaland Task Force July 18, 2012
Copies faxed to:
Shri Manmohan Singh, Hon’ble Prime Minister, New Delhi
Shri P Chidambaram, Hon’ble Union Home Minister, New Delhi
Ms Mamata Banerjee, Hon’ble Chief Minister, West Bengal
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